On December 10,2017, LATO intern Nathan Sharon and program manager Bev Gingg had the pleasure of visiting the Unitarian Universalist (UU) Fellowship of San Luis Obispo to share information about LATO with the congregation. Earlier in the year, LATO was selected as a beneficiary of UU’s Community Outreach Offering program. The Sunday offerings, collected after the LATO presentation about community needs and program impacts, were donated to LATO. We were blown away by the generosity of the congregation and thoroughly enjoyed meeting many UU members who share our passion for environmental education and stewardship of precious natural resources. Thank you, UU!

LATO is largely powered by a great team of interns, volunteers and partners. Meet the Fall 2017 LATO interns, Nathan Sharon and Amber Williams. Nathan has been an invaluable asset to LATO for many years as an alumni and a natural leader; Amber is brand new to LATO though quickly becoming an amazing asset to the program, too.

My name is Nathan Sharon and I am in my 2nd year at Cuesta College. I am studying anthropology and archaeology, with an emphasis on Native American cultures. I went to Santa Margarita Elementary School, and have been benefiting from and involved with LATO my whole life. I was an Oak Ambassador in grades 5 and 6, and this is my 3rd year helping to organize hikes and train new ambassadors. Beverly and the Land Conservancy have been some of the biggest and best influences on my life, and I hope to continue being involved as long as I can. Watching these students grow into confident and competent young adults is the most fulfilling thing.

My name is Amber Williams and I am a 3rd year Biological Sciences student at Cal Poly, concentrating in Ecology. My plan is to become a High School Biology Teacher upon graduation. I grew up being absolutely fascinated with the world around me, and jumped at every chance I had to learn more about the ways in which it worked. I credit a great deal of my continued interest and success in my studies of Biology to the amazing teachers that helped build a foundation of knowledge to augment my natural curiosity, which is exactly why I am so excited to work with LATO. It is absolutely amazing to see the students’ faces light up when they grasp a new concept, and it is so rewarding to be a part of that process.